Idol Pursuits, Part 2: Opportunities

Catching up now? Check out Part 1 here.

Somehow, I’d neglected to ask K what she did for a living. I knew that she used to dream about a career in the media or the arts. I had naively guessed that she had taken a desk job at some faceless company or government department, high-tailing it down the freeway to mediocrity like so many of our peers. I shouldn’t have.

And here she was with a Canadian Idol business card. She’d made it.

The revelation was followed by question after question about the show and the judges and Ben Mulroney and whether or not he was really as orange and leathery from over-tanning as he looked on TV. On most things, she couldn’t comment, but she assured me that if I was good, I might be able to find out for myself, in person.

We parted ways with my exceptionally-understanding friends and the rest of the evening passed in a blur. A trip to Zaphod’s and several Pangalactic Gargleblasters later, we shared our first kiss. And after I had walked her back to her hotel later that evening and started my own walk home, my head was working overtime. She lived in a completely different city. How would I be able to keep our newfound romance alive?

In the end, it may have been K’s boss that opened the door a little wider for us. Canadian Idol, of course, was in town for their cross-Canada auditions. As luck would have it, they were a little understaffed and K’s boss asked her if she knew anyone who might be able to help out for the day as a production assistant.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I was sitting in a car when she called me, I probably would have leapt three feet in the air in excitement. It was a priceless opportunity. I not only got to spend a day working on one of the most high-profile shows in Canada, my own little taste of the TV industry, but I also got to spend a whole day with K. And, I was promised, I would get a free T-shirt. Score.


We had dinner and drinks with some of my friends that evening. Even though this group of friends tried their hardest to scare her off, K still wanted me to help with the show the next day. And she only protested a little bit about what she called my “nefarious plan” to get her drunk and “lay the smackdown” on her the night before. And I protested back, denying any nefariousness, although I did know the bartender and he may have helped me out a little bit.

And as I sat there, manning a table with K and covering for her while she was away over the course of a long – but fun – day, my admiration for her continued to grow. She just seemed so in control and confident and happy to be doing what she was doing and getting paid for it. And I got paid for hanging out with her. I would have done it for free.

Also, in case you’re interested: Ben Mulroney is about as orange as Ernie from Sesame Street in person. Bert was nowhere to be seen. And his jacket looked like someone had attacked him with a rhinestone-gun.

I’m going to fast forward through some of the next details for a bit. Suffice it to say, I couldn’t give her up. Long-distance is hard, but she was worth the effort. And even though K still suspected nefariousness, she agreed that I was worth the effort, too.

Fortunately, I’d taken a week off as a break between jobs and I spent as much time with her as I could, despite her long working day. That’s right folks, that’s lucky-break #2, if you’re keeping score at home. We had reconnected at the very moment when I actually had the free time to spend with her.

And then when the production left town and headed back to Toronto, I went to visit K for a few days on her own turf. But it wasn’t all rosy. The following month, Idol continued on its tour across Canada and I didn’t see K at all. We did our best to make up for the lost time as things ticked along through May and June, but the Idol threat (ha! another pun) always loomed in the background. K was often asked to work weekends, causing us some scheduling challenges. And yet, through it all, we grew closer and closer to one another as the pressure on K increased and the first set of shows were aired on TV.

I was directly involved with Idol once more when the graphics department couldn’t put some photo work together at the last minute. Fortunately for me, they decided to freelance the work out and K was the one who had to find a designer on short notice. And once again, I was happy to help out. That’s right. Lucky break #3.

The Top-22 episode of Idol (featuring the finalists from the auditions) aired in late June and I already felt like I was a part of the production team, in my own small way. And I was watching. As predictable as the show (almost always) is, I had to find out where it was all leading. But it still didn’t prepare me for what lay ahead.

Check back here soon for the final instalment….